Lesson 2: Metamorphosis of Philippine Constitution

the metamorphosis of philippine constitution

what is

executive

what is

dictatorship

lesson 2:

the metamorphosis of philippine constitution

start

Objectives:

1. Compare and contrast the different constitutions that prevailed in the country. 2. Defend the veracity and truthfulness of the facts affecting the evolution of the Philippine Constitution.

Group 10

Lesson Proper

4. The Japanese Occupation and the Second Philippine Republic (1943 Constitution)

5. The 1973 Constitution and the Marcos Dictatorship

1. The 1897 Constitution of Biak-na-Bato

6. The Freedom Constitution (1986)

2. The 1899 Malolos Constitution ( 1899-1901)

7. The 1987 Constitution

3. The 1935 Constitution and the Commonwealth Government

The Constitution of Biak-na-Bato was the provisionary Constitution of the Philippine Republic during the Philippine Revolution, and was promulgated by the Philippine Revolutionary Government on November 01, 1897. The constitution, borrowed from Jimaguayu, Cuba, was written by Isabelo Artacho and Félix Ferrer in Spanish, and later on, translated into Tagalog.

The 1897 Constitution of Biak-na-Bato

The organs of the government under the Constitution were:

“We are not makers of history. We are made by history.”

-Martin Luther King, Jr.

(1) the Supreme Council, which was vested with the power of the Republic, headed by the president and four department secretaries: the interior, foreign affairs, treasury, and war; (2) the Consejo Supremo de Gracia y Justicia (Supreme Council of Grace and Justice), which was given the authority to make decisions and affirm or disprove the sentences rendered by other courts and to dictate rules for the administration of justice;

(3) the Asamblea de Representantes (Assembly of Representatives), which was to be convened after the revolution to create a new Constitution and to elect a new Council of Government and Representatives of the people. The Constitution of Biak-na-Bato was never fully implemented, since a truce, the Pact of Biak-na-Bato, was signed between the Spanish and the Philippine Revolutionary Army.

Home

The Political Constitution of 1899 (Spanish: Constitución Política de 1899), informally known as the Malolos Constitution, was the constitution of the First Philippine Republic. It was written by Felipe Calderón y Roca and Felipe Buencamino as an alternative to a pair of proposals to the Malolos Congress by Apolinario Mabini and Pedro Paterno. After a lengthy debate in the latter part of 1898, it was promulgated on 21 January 1899.

The 1899 Malolos Constitution ( 1899-1901)

The Malolos Constitution was the first republican constitution in Asia. Its main features were as follows:1. It was based on democratic traditions in which the government formed was “popular, representative and responsible” with three distinct branches--the executive, the legislative, and the judicial. 2. It called for a presidential form of government with the president elected for a term of ffour years by the majority of the Assembly convened as a constituent assembly; 3. It recognized the freedom of religion and the separation of the Church and State; 4. It emphasized and safeguarded the basic civil rights of not only Filipinos but foreigners, through a Bill of Rights ( Article XIX to XIXIII)

The constitution placed limitations on unsupervised freedom of action by the chief executive which would have hampered rapid decision making. As it was created during the fight for Philippine independence from Spain, however, its Article 99 allowed unhampered executive freedom of action during wartime. Unsupervised executive governance continued throughout the Philippine–American War which erupted soon after proclamation.

Home

The 1935 Constitution of the Philippines which created the Commonwealth of the Philippines was based on the principle of separation of powers among the three branches of government. Executive power is vested to the President which shall serve for a single-six year term. Legislative power is vested in a unicameral National Assembly, and judicial power is exercised by the Supreme Court.

The 1935 Constitution and the Commonwealth Government

The 1935 Constitution enumerated the composition, powers, and duties of the three branches of the government (the executive, the legislative, and the judicial) and created the General Auditing Office and laid down the framework in the establishment of the civil service in the country. The other provisions included the Bill of Rights, a provision for women’s suffrage giving the women the right to vote and to be part of the Philippine politics for the first time. The creation of a Philippine Armed Forces for national defense, and the development of the national language. The framing of the 1935 Constitution was momentous event for Filipino people. It showed the Americans that Filipinos had the capability for self-government with the creation of the Commonwealth Government in 1935 that led the country’s independence a decade later.

Accordingly, the 1935 Constitution was written with an eye to meeting the approval of the United States Government so as to ensure that the U.S. would live up to its promise to grant the Philippines independence. It was also on this day in 1910, that the then Commissioner (to the U.S. House of Representatives) Manuel L. Quezon delivered an eloquent speech in the United States Congress, pleading for Philippine independence.

Home

The 1935 Constitution enumerated the composition, powers, and duties of the three branches of the government (the executive, the legislative, and the judicial) and created the General Auditing Office and laid down the framework in the establishment of the civil service in the country. The other provisions included the Bill of Rights, a provision for women’s suffrage giving the women the right to vote and to be part of the Philippine politics for the first time. The creation of a Philippine Armed Forces for national defense, and the development of the national language. The framing of the 1935 Constitution was momentous event for Filipino people. It showed the Americans that Filipinos had the capability for self-government with the creation of the Commonwealth Government in 1935 that led the country’s independence a decade later.

Accordingly, the 1935 Constitution was written with an eye to meeting the approval of the United States Government so as to ensure that the U.S. would live up to its promise to grant the Philippines independence. It was also on this day in 1910, that the then Commissioner (to the U.S. House of Representatives) Manuel L. Quezon delivered an eloquent speech in the United States Congress, pleading for Philippine independence.

Home

After the Japanese invasion of the Philippines, President Manuel L. Quezon had declared the national capital Manila an "open city", and left it under the rule of Jorge B. Vargas, as mayor. The Japanese entered the city on January 2, 1942, and established it as the capital. Japan fully captured the Philippines on May 6, 1942, after the Battle of Corregidor.

The Japanese Occupation and the Second Philippine Republic (1943 Constitution)

General Masaharu Homma decreed the dissolution of the Commonwealth of the Philippines and established the Philippine Executive Commission, a caretaker government, with Vargas as its first chairman in January 1942. KALIBAPI — Kapisanan sa Paglilingkod sa Bagong Pilipinas (Tagalog for the "Association for Service to the New Philippines") — was formed by Proclamation No. 109 of the Philippine Executive Commission (Komisyong Tagapagpaganap ng Pilipinas), a piece of legislation passed on December 8, 1942, banning all existing political parties and creating the new governing alliance. Its first director-general was Benigno Aquino, Sr. The pro-Japanese Ganap Party, which saw the Japanese as the saviors of the archipelago, was absorbed into the KALIBAPI.

The 1943 Constitution was recognized as legitimate and binding only in Japanese controlled areas of the Philippines but was ignored by the United States government and the Philippine Commonwealth government in-exile. It was abolished eventually along with the Second Republic upon the liberation of the Philippines by American forces in 1945 and the re-establishment of the Commonwealth in the Philippines.

Home

On June 1, 1971, a Constitutional Convention was convened at the Manila Hotel. Its purpose was to write a new constitution at the Manila Hotel. Its purpose was to write a new constitution that would meet the new challenges confronting the Philippines Republic that developed since it was formed in 1946. It was during the second term of President Ferdinand Marcos that the convention opened. Almost immediately, the convention became controversial. The delegates concentrated more on speeches and giving themselves allowances before actually sitting down to discuss the provisions of the new constitution. Meanwhile, the peace and order situation brought about by the First Quarter Storm deteriorated with student rallies and other protests rocking the metropolis. The biggest scandal came when Leyte delegate Eduardo Quintero accused Marcos of bribing delegates to vote for a provision to extend the presidential term of office and to change the form of government.

The 1973 Constitution and the Marcos Dictatorship

But the convention’s activities soon came to a temporary halt when President Marcos declared martial law on September 21, 1972. He abolished Congress and reorganized the government. Several days later, the convention was reconvened and a draft constitution was finally finished and approved on November 30. Instead of being ratified by a plebiscite, however, Marcos submitted it to “citizen assemblies” that was formed to approve or reject the new constitution. The plebiscite was held from January 10-15, 1972 and the constitution was overwhelming approved. On January 17, 1973, President Marcos signed Proclamation No. 1102 declaring the 1973 Constitution ratified. The 1973 Constitution provided for a parliamentary form of government in which the President was the symbolic head of the state and the Prime Minister was the head of government. The prime Minister, who was nominated by the president, acted as the head of the Cabinet.

Legislative power was vested in the Batasang Pambansa. The constitution also provided for the establishment of the Civil Service commission, the Commission on Elections, and the Commission on Audit. In 1981, amendments were made to the 1973 Constitution and the President was restored from a symbolic head of state to its original status as the head of the state and chief executive of the country. The amended Constitution also granted the President several powers and functions which were originally vested in the Prime Minister and the Cabinet. The 1973 Constitution remained in force until the February 22-25 EDSA People Power Revolution of 1986 which toppled the Marcos administration. It was abolished with the adoption of the 1986 Freedom Constitution by the administration of President Corazon Aquino.

Home

Immediately following the 1986 People Power Revolution that ousted Marcos, President Corazon C. Aquino issued Proclamation No. 3 as a provisional constitution. It adopted certain provisions from the 1973 Constitution while abolishing others. It granted the President broad powers to reorganize government and remove officials, as well as mandating the president to appoint a commission to draft a new, more formal Constitution. This document, described above, supplanted the "Freedom Constitution" upon its ratification in 1987. This is the transitional constitution that lasted a year and came before the permanent constitution. It maintained many provisions of the 1973 Constitution, including in rewritten form the presidential right to rule by decree. The Convention compose of 48 members appointed by the President

The FreedomConstitution (1986)

But On March 24, 1986, President Aquino signed Proclamation No. 3 entitled “Declaring a National Policy to Implements the Reforms mandated By the People, Protecting their basic rights, Adopting a Provisional Constitution, and Providing for an Orderly Transition constitution, later called the “Freedom Constitution,” was proclaimed, setting aside the 1973 Constitution thereby recognizing the new Aquino administration as a temporary revolutionary government until the framing of a new constitution. It basically adopted some provisions of the 1973 Constitution especially the Bill of Rights.

Under the Freedom Constitution, the President continued to exercise legislative powers until a legislature was convened under a new constitution. Furthermore, the President was given the power to appoint the members of a Constitutional Commission tasked to draft a new charter “truly reflective of the ideals and aspirations of the Filipino people.”

Home

By virtue of Sec. 1, Article 5 of the Freedom Constitution, President Aquino issued on April 23, 1986 Proclamation No. 9, consisting a Constitutional Commission (CONCOM) charged with drafting a new constitution not later that September 2, 1986. In line with this issuance, President Aquino, on May 26, 1986, appointed the 50 CONCOM members representing the various sectors of society from politics to the arts and to the religion. On June 2 the ConCom, headed by former Justice Cecilia Munoz Palma, commenced its sessions at the Batasang Pambansa in Quezon City. The ConCom completed their task on October 12, 1986 and presented the draft constitution to President Aquino on October 15. After a period of nationwide information campaign, a plebiscite for its ratification was held on February 2, 1987. An overwhelming 17,059,495 voted to ratify the constitution while 5,058,714 voted against it. On February 11, 1987, the New Constitution was proclaimed ratified and in effect. On the same day, President Aquino, government officials, and the military pledged allegiance to the New Constitution.

The 1987 Constitution

The 1987 Constitution consists of 18 articles with a preamble. Preamble Article I - National Territory Article II - Declaration of Principles and State Policies Article III - Bill of Rights Article IV - Citizenship Article V - Suffrage Article VI - Legislative Department Article VII - Executive Department Article VIII - Judicial Department Article IX - Constitutional Commission Article X - Local Government Article XI - Accountability of Public Officers Article XII - National Economy and Patrimony Article XIII - Social Justice and Human Rights Article XIV - Education, Science and Technology and Arts Article XV - The Family Article XVI - General Provisions Article XVII - Amendments and Revision Article XVIII - Transitory Provisions

Among its significant provisions are as follows: 1.A presidential system of government restores the bicameral Congress of the Philippines, composed of a Senate and a House of Representatives. 2.A modified Bill of Rights (Article III) details the rights of every Filipino citizen. Much emphasis was placed on the writing of this provision after the violations committed during the Marcos dictatorship. In addition, the constitution includes the abolition of death penalty, except when Congress provides otherwise with regard to “heinous crimes.” 3.The creation of a Commission on Human Rights which under, Section 18, Article XIII, is tasked to investigate all forms of human rights violation involving civil and political rights. It provides appropriate legal measures for the protection of human rights of all person within the Philippines, and several other powers in relation to the protection of human rights. 4.The recognition of Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao and the Cordilleras. 5.Limited political autonomy for local government units like the provinces, cities, municipalities, and barangays and instructing the Congress to establish a Local Government Code.

Home

thanks!

References:

• https://dotr.gov.ph/images/front/GAD/issuances/1987constitution.pdf
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ec1m6AMfWgs&t=877s
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmLk3NCrwtQ&t=605s
• https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/constitution
• https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/metamorphosis